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Prairie Pioneer: The Life and Times of Judge Bazel Harrison
Trade paperback with brown illustrated covers. Signed and inscribed by author on title page. References to James Fenimore Cooper in Kalamazoo. 319 pp.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
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October 23, 2023
A local history book, signed by the author, who just happens to be the great-great-granddaughter of the subject, by a very small publishing company, and it just so happens to be the only book out there on the subject. Sounds like an amazing book right? Wrong. But why is that, it sounds amazing! Well, here’s an excerpt:
«“Well, Brownie," said Ellas as they started on their perilous journey, "we have made up our minds to see this trip through to the end haven't we?"
"He, he, he," answered Brownie in his special horse language, as if to say, "I won't let you down, Elias.”»
Oh! That sounds awful! It is! Believe me. It. is! That’s just one part of the book though. Oh no! The whole book’s like that. THE. WHOLE. DAMN. BOOK!!
Judge Bazel Harrison deserves more than that! And I’ve been able to find more information about the man from my own personal research than from this book. This is what I have found and written:
“His uncle Benjamin Harrison was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His cousin William Henry Harrison became President of the United States. His father William Harrison, Jr. served alongside George Washington in Braddock’s Expedition in the French & Indian War. Among such giants as these, Bazel was born for greatness.
From the thirteen colonies, Bazel slowly moved westward, married his childhood sweetheart in secret, and raised 17 children! After the War of 1812, word got to Harrison in Ohio about the Michigan frontier from his son Elias. His vivid account told of splendid timber, magnificent prairies, park-like openings, mighty rivers, and vast lakes. All eyes in the Harrison family turned toward Michigan, and a party of 21 persons started out on a trek to pioneer the wilderness. A month later they arrived at the southeastern tip of Prairie Ronde township in Kalamazoo County, what is now the village of Schoolcraft.
They arrived on November 5, 1828 at dusk. Some in the party said, “Perhaps the eye of man has rarely rested on a more beautiful natural landscape than presented [to us] by Prairie Ronde.” The next day, Potawatomi Chief Sagamaw and ten of his companions welcomed the Harrison party. When asked for information of local water sources, the Chief led them to the west side of Harrison Lake. Impressed, Bazel Harrison selected that very spot to be their new home and set up a crude log cabin for the company to winter in, becoming the first permanent settlers in Kalamazoo County. Eventually a frame house was built, and within a year more than 60 persons were living in Harrison’s new community.
By the time government was established in Kalamazoo County, Bazel Harrison was selected as Justice of the Peace and appointed by Governor Cass as an Associate Judge of the County Court. Judge Harrison was instrumental in the creation of the Kalamazoo government and devoted the rest of his life to politics. Longtime wife Martha Stillwater passed June 7, 1857. Judge Bazel Harrison surpassed her in years and lived to the ripe old age of 103! He passed on August 30, 1874 at the residence of son John S. Harrison. At the time of his death, a direct line of 220 descendants were still living! Always living a life of peaceableness with neighbors and hospitality to strangers, his funeral reflected what a great man he was with 1,000 people paying their respects. Today, Bazel and Martha are buried in Harrison Cemetery in Prairie Ronde Township. Their old, tattered, crumbling headstones have been repaired to the best ability and encased with a stainless steel cap.”
«“Well, Brownie," said Ellas as they started on their perilous journey, "we have made up our minds to see this trip through to the end haven't we?"
"He, he, he," answered Brownie in his special horse language, as if to say, "I won't let you down, Elias.”»
Oh! That sounds awful! It is! Believe me. It. is! That’s just one part of the book though. Oh no! The whole book’s like that. THE. WHOLE. DAMN. BOOK!!
Judge Bazel Harrison deserves more than that! And I’ve been able to find more information about the man from my own personal research than from this book. This is what I have found and written:
“His uncle Benjamin Harrison was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His cousin William Henry Harrison became President of the United States. His father William Harrison, Jr. served alongside George Washington in Braddock’s Expedition in the French & Indian War. Among such giants as these, Bazel was born for greatness.
From the thirteen colonies, Bazel slowly moved westward, married his childhood sweetheart in secret, and raised 17 children! After the War of 1812, word got to Harrison in Ohio about the Michigan frontier from his son Elias. His vivid account told of splendid timber, magnificent prairies, park-like openings, mighty rivers, and vast lakes. All eyes in the Harrison family turned toward Michigan, and a party of 21 persons started out on a trek to pioneer the wilderness. A month later they arrived at the southeastern tip of Prairie Ronde township in Kalamazoo County, what is now the village of Schoolcraft.
They arrived on November 5, 1828 at dusk. Some in the party said, “Perhaps the eye of man has rarely rested on a more beautiful natural landscape than presented [to us] by Prairie Ronde.” The next day, Potawatomi Chief Sagamaw and ten of his companions welcomed the Harrison party. When asked for information of local water sources, the Chief led them to the west side of Harrison Lake. Impressed, Bazel Harrison selected that very spot to be their new home and set up a crude log cabin for the company to winter in, becoming the first permanent settlers in Kalamazoo County. Eventually a frame house was built, and within a year more than 60 persons were living in Harrison’s new community.
By the time government was established in Kalamazoo County, Bazel Harrison was selected as Justice of the Peace and appointed by Governor Cass as an Associate Judge of the County Court. Judge Harrison was instrumental in the creation of the Kalamazoo government and devoted the rest of his life to politics. Longtime wife Martha Stillwater passed June 7, 1857. Judge Bazel Harrison surpassed her in years and lived to the ripe old age of 103! He passed on August 30, 1874 at the residence of son John S. Harrison. At the time of his death, a direct line of 220 descendants were still living! Always living a life of peaceableness with neighbors and hospitality to strangers, his funeral reflected what a great man he was with 1,000 people paying their respects. Today, Bazel and Martha are buried in Harrison Cemetery in Prairie Ronde Township. Their old, tattered, crumbling headstones have been repaired to the best ability and encased with a stainless steel cap.”
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